Lee and Shirley
I first met Lee and Shirley at Harris Beach in Brookings,Oregon. They are here from England bicycle touring the Pacific coast. We met off and over a ten day period. They have toured excessively, and added greatly to the enjoyment of touring and and camping together.
Nick and family
At Manchester, California I met Nick, Deb and their dog Ziggy. This was several days ago now. They are making their way back to San Francisco about 20 miles each day. Ziggy weighs 70 or more pound; add to that the heavy duty trailer.
Lee studies the map
This morning Lee studied his Adventure Cycling Association map of the Pacific coast cycling route at breakfast. I first met Lee and Shirley at Harris Beach State Park in Oregon. We have been at the same campgrounds several times. They are here from England.
Logging truck
A logging truck driver waived at me as I was stopped off the road to take a picture. These drivers know where their vehicle is in the lane. I prefer them to Class A motor homes. Yesterday, one of those motor homes was driving almost on top of the fog line. I was on the right side of the fog line on the very narrow shoulder with my mirror almost on the fog line. Theses folks are ignoring the California law requiring drivers to give cyclists 3 feet of clearance. More than one has been inside that margin. The truckers do a lot better job.
Some motorists have shouted enthusiastic support. One young fellow with bikes mounted on his trunk, stuck his head out the window and flashed a peace sign. He was much friendlier than a passenger last week who only showed half a peace sign.
Northern California Coast
This is a picture I took this afternoon, before the fog rolled in. after I passed through Elk, California the road dropped to cross a creek and then turned up in a series of steep hairpin turns. I walked, pushing the loaded bike (about 80 pounds).
Water tower in Mendocino
I cycled through Mendocino this morning (October 8). There are many older buildings that are preserved. I saw several of these water towers.
Mendocino
Mark Miller and Mark Kim
Since crossing the challenging hills at Crescent City, California, I have been traveling with Mark Miller and Mark Kim. After camping together for five nights, they seem like long time friends.
Late this afternoon we parted as I stayed at the Manchester KOA and they continued on to a campground another 20 plus miles away. They are returning to Sacramento while I continue my bicycle travels south.
I hope we get to ride together again.
California Highway 1
This photo is day 21, October 7 where California Highway one meets the coast. I had sunlight for a little while before the fog rolled in. I have been traveling with Mark Miller and Mark Kim. They are from Sacramento, riding from Crescent City back home.
Lunch by the road
I had lunch by the coast. In the morning I did one big climb with a long descent. I had taken my jacket off. I was shivering by the time I finally stopped and put it back on.
Tunnel on US101
This one is out of order. There are two tunnels on the Oregon coast highway. There is a button to push that starts flashing lights to warn motorists that a cyclist is in the tunnel. On the first and longest one last week (I counted 166 seconds grinding up hill in a low gear), I was passed by a semi and a logging truck.
Beautiful rest stop along US101
While yesterday was a 64 mile ride, after Port Orford (a short ride from the campground) I road right along the Pacific Ocean for mile after mile, seeing the colors change during the day as the sun traversed the sky. I was away from the coast for a while. First at Humbug Mountain and then on another steep long climb which ended with a descent at speeds up to 40 miles per hour (don’t mention that to my wife).
There were time yesterday that the road was nearly level and I made a good average speed. There were also many hills with the slow climbing lanes for trucks.
South of Bandon, Oregon
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